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Born in the U.S.A.

• Bruce Springsteen -
• Lyrics / Works Cited
• Visit His Website
• From the Born in the U.S.A. album

Presentation By Russ Smith, 7th Block
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Born in the USA Lyrics

• Born down in a dead mans town
• The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
• You end up like a dog thats been beat too much
• Till you spend half you life just covering up
• Born in the U.S.A.
• I was born in the U.S.A.
• I was born in the U.S.A.
• Born in the U.S.A.

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Born in the U.S.A. Lyrics

• Got in a little hometown jam
• So they put a rifle in my hand
• Sent me off to a foreign land
• To go and kill the yellow man
• Born in the U.S.A.
• I was born in the U.S.A.
• I was born in the U.S.A.
• I was born in the U.S.A.
• Born in the U.S.A.

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Born in the USA Lyrics

• Come back home to the refinery
• Hiring man says, Son if it was up to me
• Went down to see my V.A. man
• He said, Son, dont you understand
• I had a brother at Khe Sahn
• fighting off the Viet Cong
• Theyre still there, hes all gone.

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Born in the U.S.A Lyrics

• He had a woman he loved in Saigon
• I got a picture of him in her arms now
• Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
• Out by the gas fires of the refinery
• Im ten years burning down the road
• Nowhere to run aint got nowhere to go

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Born in the U.S.A. Lyrics

• Born in the U.S.A.
• I was born in the U.S.A.
• Born in the U.S.A.
• Im a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
• Born in the U.S.A.
• Born in the U.S.A.
• Born in the U.S.A.
• Im a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.

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Bruce Springsteen 1941-

• Bruce Springsteen is a largely popular rock
  artist that rose to fame in the 1980. A member
  of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in-text
  citation goes here), Springsteen produced
  multiple hit albums and singles that focused on
  issues such as the war in Vietnam or 9/11.
• He was born on September 23, 1949 in Freehold,
  NJ to a poor family. His parents struggled to
  make ends meet while supporting Springsteen and
  his two sisters. He was finally given a guitar
  for his 16th birthday. He taught himself to play
  and the rest would prove to be history.
• Springsteen started his musical career playing
  for various bands before Bruce Springsteen and
  the E Street Band. His first album, Greetings
  from Asbury Park, N.J. was released in 1973 with
  other material also released during that year.
  His most famous album was Born in the USA
  featuring the hit single Born in the U.S. that
  discussed the Vietnam War. He is also well-known
  for his concert performances with highly attended
  stadium tours appearances at events like the
  Super Bowl.

Listen to more of Springsteens music
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Refinery

• A refinery is an industrial facility that turns
  crude oil into products such as Kerosene, Diesel,
  and Gasoline. The process includes heating up
  the oil. Refineries arent very desirable places
  to be as referenced in the song. They represent
  a bad area to be in the song.

• For more information
• www.bp.com
• www.exxonmobil.com/
• www.epa.gov

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Foreign Man

• This term refers to the North Vietnamese, the
  communist army. Foreign means to be from a
  different country. The American soldiers went to
  war to fight foreign men

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Khe Sahn

• The American base in Vietnam would come under
  siege from North Vietnam forces. The Americans
  set out to defend the base/ and repel the North
  Vietnam forces. The siege lasted 77 days and 250
  American troop died but the Americans were
  successful in holding the base.

For more info - PBS.org Vietnam History
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Viet Cong

• The Viet Cong (National Front for Liberation of
  South Vietnam) was one of the communist groups in
  North Vietnam. The Peoples Liberation Armed
  Forces fought on behalf of the Viet Cong. They
  fought for the North in opposition of the United
  States.

For more info about the Viet Cong
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Saigon

• This city was the capital of South Vietnam during
  the Vietnam conflict. It was the base of
  operations for the American forces. The conflict
  ended when Saigon was taken over by North
  Vietnamese forces.

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Penitentiary

• They were a type of prison that came about the
  with the need to reform prisoners before being
  reintroduced into society. The idea was
  established England, but with help from several
  other countries including the United States.
  Solitary confinement from other convicts was used
  in conjunction with trade education to help
  prepare the convicts for their release or parole.
  

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Simile
You end up like a dog thats been beat too much

• This line describes the problems that the Vietnam
  veterans had once they came back home. Public
  approval for the war had almost disappeared and
  the veterans were left behind. This simile
  compares them to dogs that have been mistreated
  or abandoned. It means that the veterans werent
  embraced back into society, and they faced
  challenges in returning to their old lives.

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Theme
Born in the U.S.A.

• The theme of the song is when the soldiers went
  off to war they were patriotic Americans
  defending their country. When they came back
  after a long war, they werent honored as the
  heroes that they were. They were left to blend
  back into society during tough economic times.
  They werent taken care of upon their return to
  normal society and many faced trouble in getting
  a new job and reconnecting with family.

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Ryhming
So they put a rifle in my hand, sent me off to a
foreign land, to go and kill the yellow man

•  This verse is just one example of the rhyming
  that Springsteen uses throughout the song.

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Imagery

• This section of the song provides imagery to show
  what it was like to be a Vietnam veteran after
  the war. It shows that for some the situation
  after the war wasnt unlike the war itself. They
  had trouble finding work. They had left their
  families, jobs, and friends for ten years and
  now have to start over again.

• Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
• Out by the gas fires of the refinery
• Im ten years burning down the road
• Nowhere to run, aint got nowhere to go?

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Repetition
Born in the U.S.A., I was Born in the U.S.A.,
I was born in the U.S.A, Born in the U.S.A.

• Springsteen uses this as the chorus of the song
  and its repeated message shows the theme song

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Irony
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary Out by
the gas fires of the refinery Im ten years
burning down the road Nowhere to run, aint got
nowhere to go?

• This section of the song provides imagery to show
  what it was like to be a Vietnam veteran after
  the war. It shows that for some the situation
  after the war wasnt unlike the war itself. They
  had trouble finding work. They had left their
  families, jobs, and friends for ten years and
  now have to start over again.

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Works Cited
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• Viet Cong, Encyclopedia Britannica.
  Encyclopedia Britannica Online Edition.
  Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010. Web 31 May 2010
  http//library.eb.com/eb/article-9075311
• petroleum refining Encyclopedia Britannica.
  Encyclopedia Britannica Online Library Edition,
  Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010. Web 31 May 2010
  http//library.eb.com/eb/article-81786
• "prison." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia
  Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopædia
  Britannica, 2010. Web. 1  June  2010
   lthttp//school.eb.com/eb/article-272177gt. "Viet
  Cong." World History The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO,
  2010. Web. 1 June 2010. lthttp//www.worldhistory.a
  bc-clio.comgt.
• "Vietnam War." World History The Modern Era.
  ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 1 June 2010.
  lthttp//www.worldhistory.abc-clio.comgt.
• National Archives. Aftermath of Tet Offensive in
  Cho Lon, Saigon. N.d. World      History The
  Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, n.d. Web. 1 June 2010.
       lthttp//www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search
  /      Display.aspx?categoryid4entryid328977s
  earchtextsaigontypesimpleoptionallgt.

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Works Cited
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• - - -. Khe Sanh. N.d. World History The Modern
  Era. ABC-CLIO, n.d. Web. 1 June      2010.
  lthttp//www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/
       Display.aspx?categoryid4entryid1424206se
  archtextkhesanhtypesimpleoption      allgt.
  
• - - -. Viet Cong Soldier. N.d. World History The
  Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, n.d.      Web. 1 June
  2010. lthttp//www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search
  /      Display.aspx?categoryid4entryid627931s
  earchtextvietcongtypesimpleoption
       allgt.
• "The Siege at Khe Sanh." BattlefieldVietnam.
  PBS, n.d. Web. 31 May 2010.      lthttp//www.pbs.
  org/battlefieldvietnam/khe/index.htmlgt.
• U.S. Deparment of Defense. Disabled Vietnam
  Veteran. N.d. World History The      Modern
  Era. ABC-CLIO, n.d. Web. 1 June 2010.
       lthttp//www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Sea
  rch/      Display.aspx?categoryid4entryid12795
  81searchtextvietnamveteranstypesimple
       optionallgt.